CNA Certification and Training in Mississippi

Becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant in Mississippi is an affordable way to begin a new and exciting career.  CNAs work throughout Mississippi, primarily in nursing homes, providing patients with basic medical care.  They take patients vital signs and help them as needed with eating, bathing and moving about.  CNAs also are responsible for cleaning equipment and preparing rooms.  In some cases, they might assist with minor procedures.  Always working under a licensed LPN or RN, CNAs have responsibility for their patients, but also have resources for help.  Here are the steps to becoming a CNA in Mississippi.

Training

There are many state-approved training courses, which anyone who is not certified as a CNA must take prior to sitting for the licensing exam.  Any curriculum that has been approved by the Mississippi State Department of Health meets the Federal requirements for length.  They are at least 75 hours long and include a minimum of 16 clinical hours.  Here is a list of places to find CNA training courses throughout Mississippi:

  • CNA Training Center – Jackson Medical Mall
  • Hinds Community College – Jackson
  • Holmes Community College Nurse Aide Program – Goodman
  • Itawamba Community College CNA Course – Fulton
  • Meridian Community College
  • Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College
  • MS Delta Community College CNA Program – Moorhead
  • Northeast MS CC – Booneville
  • Northwest MS CC Nurse Aide Training Program – Oxford
  • Northwest MS CC Nursing Assistant Program – Senatobia
  • Pearl River CC – Forrest
  • Southwest MS Community College Nurse Assistant Program – Summitt

Exam

The CNA licensing exam in Mississippi is administered by Pearson Vue, which also provides many practice materials for the tests.  The exam consists of two sections.  One is written, and the other is a skills evaluation.  This mirrors the training curriculum division between classroom and clinical instruction.

Reciprocity

Mississippi has a generous reciprocity policy with other states, accepting any other state’s CNAs.  CNAs apply for reciprocity through Pearson Vue, the same company that administers the licensing exam.  CNAs who are currently active on another registry can transfer their credentials to Mississippi.  Of course, these applicants cannot have any findings of abuse or patient neglect.

If an application is denied because the CNA’s license is expired, then the exam can be directly challenged.  Only if the exam is failed, regardless of which section is failed, does the applicant have to take a Mississippi CNA training course.  More information for applying via reciprocity can be found here.

Employment

In 2010, which is the latest data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were more than 16,000 CNAs working in Mississippi.  On average, these CNAs earned around $9.50 an hour, or nearly $20,000 annually.  In the future, the BLS expects the demand for CNAs in the U.S., including in Mississippi, to rise.  As the need for CNAs increases, there will be even more employment opportunities and higher wages.

There are two main ways to become a CNA in Mississippi: through the state licensing exam and by reciprocity.  Either way, going through the application process to work as a CNA in Mississippi is a wise investment in the future.  This is a growing field, which has a promising future.